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Sunday, April 23, 2017

The shop arrived yesterday to news that one of 355's seat supports had been broken. A passenger had apparently been jumping or bouncing excessively on the seat...

Paul made quick work of the repair, with some help from Kelly.

Elsewhere, work resumed on 18, with Galen removing some more of the old, peeling paint and beginning the application of new, fresh paint. The dull red is primer. The shop hopes to return 18 to work service.

Work continues on 836. Fred is making progress on scraping/sanding the window the window frame in preparation for some touch-up painting, John has removed more of the damaged window sash Paul and Bruce started work on last weekend. Kelly and Paul performed maintenance on the car, so it is ready to go back into service as soon as the repairs are completed.

In other news, 5645's armature is expected to arrive back this week. Once work is complete on 836, 5645 will be brought to the shop where the armature will be installed. This will allow the car to be run on all four motors once again, returning some much needed pep to its trips down the line.

We've also begun removing the old wood pulp insulation from the walls of the shop. This will eliminate a huge fire hazard when we begin welding work on 3001. It also has the added benefit of making the shop look a lot better.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

After a snowy and cold opening day, it's been a busy couple of weeks in the shop. Maintenance has been completed on all six of the cars in Kelly Barn and each has seen service down the line. With the exception of 5645 developing a dragging brake shoe last week, the season opened well. The issue was quickly resolved and the car returned to service.

We were happy to see Trolley Care Class Alumni Paul and Noah visiting last weekend, while Adam and Jim were in yesterday to lend a hand. They helped Kelly with the maintenance of car 4, then assisted with cleaning up the shop and doing a bit of work on 836.

We are also delighted to welcome a new member to the shop, Paul James.

The shop is taking advantage of having its hands on 836. The doors are being sanded down and re-varnished by John. Bruce and Paul have started work replacing the damaged window sash on the car's north side, which survived the last operating season held in place by duct tape. Fred began sanding down the tired looking window sills, in preparation for some touch-up painting.

The north-east doors have already received one fresh coat of varnish

The damaged section of window sash has been removed

Work also progresses on 3001. John has stripped the remaining tar paper from the roof. Yesterday, the trolley bases were removed. Now, work can begin on removing the rotten roofing from the car.

John waits atop 3001 for Galen to return in the front loader after depositing the first trolley base in the storage pod. Jim and Paul observe the action.

Welcome

Following the process of maintaining and restoring trolley cars in the Lusa Car Shop at the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor Connecticut.

Interested in working with the trolleys? The Shop is always open to new volunteers, as are the other departments at the museum. Head on over to the museum's website for more information. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to help.